Frog God Games Archive

The Northlands Saga Complete This GIGANTIC tome clocks in at 795 pages if you take away editorial, ToC, etc.. No, that is NOT a typo. While I was a backer of the kickstarter that made this book, I was in no way involved in the production of this epic tome. All right, so the introduction tells us a bit of what this is: A take on Norse adventuring, with a healthy dose of the weird, fantastic and sword & sorcery sprinkled in. It should be noted that the 8 pregens from the Player’s Guide, as well as the excellent “Winter’s Teeth” stand-alone module from the “Long Winter’s Night”-series are included in the back of the tome. Okay, so […]

The Long Night of Winter: One Night in Valhalla The series “The Long Night of Winter” was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project. This module is intended for levels 12- 14 and is set in Frog God Games’ Lost Lands campaign setting. It can be run in another context/setting without any hassle whatsoever, provided Norse deities exist; its raw content clocks in at 14 pages, if you take away the pdf’s editorial, cover, etc.. This being an adventure-module, the following contains […]

The Long Night of Winter: The Hidden Huscarl The series “The Long Night of Winter” was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project. This module is intended for levels 8- 10 and is set in Frog God Games’ Lost Lands campaign setting. It can be run in another context, but I’d honestly wouldn’t recommend it this time around. This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion. … .. . So, the first thing you have […]

The Long Night of Winter: Oath of the Predator The series “The Long Night of Winter” was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project. This module is intended for levels 6- 8 and is set in Frog God Games’ Lost Lands campaign setting. It can be run in another context/setting without any hassle and its raw content clocks in at 21 pages, if you take away the pdf’s editorial, cover, etc.. This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should […]

The Long Night of Winter: The Drowned Maiden (PFRPG/OSR) The series “The Long Night of Winter” was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project. This module is intended for levels 9- 11 and is set in the eponymous Northlands of Frog God Games’ Lost Lands campaign setting. It does translate well to other fantasy campaign settings, though. This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion. … .. . There are multiple ways to immortality – […]

The Long Night of Winter: The Raid (PFRPG/OSR) The series “The Long Night of Winter” was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project. This module is intended for levels 6- 8 and is set in the eponymous Northlands of Frog God Games’ Lost Lands campaign setting. It does translate well to other fantasy campaign settings, though. This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion. … .. . Going on raids is a crucial part of […]

The Long Night of Winter – Winter’s Teeth The series “The Long Night of Winter” was conceived as supplemental material/optional tie-ins for the massive Northlands Saga, but each of the modules can be run as a stand-alone module as well. I backed the kickstarter for Northlands Saga back in the day, but otherwise was not involved in this project. This module is intended for levels 6- 8 and is set in the eponymous Northlands of Frog God Games’ Lost Lands campaign setting. It does translate well to other fantasy campaign settings, though. Minus editorial etc., we are left with 13 pages here, just fyi. This being an adventure-module, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the […]

Northlands Saga Player’s Guide (PFRPG/OSR) This Player’s guide for the massive Northlands Saga Player’s Guide clocks in at 50 pages if you ignore SRD, advertisement, editorial, etc. My review is based on the dead tree version, which comes as a nice softcover. I was a backer of the Northlands Saga kickstarter, but other than that not involved in any way with this project. So, how do we start? We start by contextualizing the Northlands and their myths – inspired by real life mythology from Scandinavia, a central leitmotif and proposition of the series was to get the feeling of the Northlands right – and, indeed, flavor-wise, the pdf begins pretty much from the get-go to do just that, presenting […]

Lost Lore: Justicar of Muir This installment of the Lost Lore-series clocks in at 9 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages of SRD, 1/2 page blank, leaving us with 4 1/2 pages of content, so let’s take a look! Muir is one of the ancient gods that has waned, but still suffuses the lore of the Lost lands – from Abysthor’s Tomb to Slumbering Tsar, the deity’s influence is still felt and the PCs may well find one of the perished spirits of champions or priests to ordain a justicar! So yeah, prestige class with an emphasis on PRESTIGE. Justicars need to be lawful good and must have a minimum of 3 paladin levels; additionally, […]

Lost Lore: Divine Hunters This installment of Frog God Games’ Lost Lore-series clocks in at 8 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 5 pages of content, so let’s take a look! Gods in pretty much most fantasy games loathe directly interposing their will on the mortal world; there is, for the most part, a good reason for that from a narrative point of view. While I loved the gods coming down to Faerûn as much as the next guy, the fallout of direct deific intervention opens up a lot of questions: Pertaining the importance of mortal free will, of why the deities don’t fix all the issues themselves, etc. The Scarred […]

Adventures in the Borderland Provinces This massive hardcover clocks in at 166 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC/product overview, 2 pages of SRD, 1 page of back cover, leaving us with 160 pages of pure adventure…so let’s take a look! This book was moved up in my review-queue due to me receiving a print copy for the purpose of a fair and critical review. “Welcome to the Borderlands. You’ll probably die here.” – Ari Marmell’s first sentence of the introduction of this book is pretty much amazing…and it makes clear from the get-go that this book provides old-school modules, in the slogan of FGG: “Modules worth winning!” – i.e. challenging, hard modules that […]

The Lost Lands: Borderland Provinces (PFRPG/OSR (S&W)/D&D 5e) This massive book clocks in at 269 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page advertisement, 2 pages of SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with a colossal 262 pages of content, so let’s take a look! This book was moved up in my review-queue due to me receiving a print copy for the purpose of a fair and unbiased review. All right, so we have been to the Sundered Kingdoms and taken in all the sights and cults…but this is something different. While situated in the adjacent region to aforementioned adventure-collection, we actually have a massive setting sourcebook. As such, the tome begins […]

Lost Lore: Characters – Krel This installment of the Lost Lore-series clocks in at 10 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 2 pages of SRD, leaving us with 6 pages of content, so let’s take a look! Who is Krel? Well, the half-orc barbarian (not archetype’d) is the unwanted progeny of an orc-raid: Born in misery, he has learned to hate his orcish half as he grew up in slavery, served on a galley…and when he helped defend the vessel from a pirate raid, he was made a free man…which is where the game comes in. Krel is intended as a go-play type of PC character – as such, his wealth exceeds that of NPCs, increasing his […]

Lost Lore: Supernal Dragon Dojo This installment of the Lost Lore-series clocks in at 8 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 5 pages of content, so let’s take a look! We begin this installment of the series with a neat fluffy introduction of the dojo in question and the pdf introduces 3 new uses of resolve, which includes self-hasting, moving through difficult terrain and using resolve as an immediate action to add a 1d6-surge to CMD. The pdf also features two different archetypes – the Daisho Master gets a scaling AC bonus when using full attacks, quicker drawing and better crit-confirmation, scaling bonuses to atk and damage as well as […]

Lost Lore: The Headhunter This installment of the Lost Lore-series clocks in at 10 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page of SRD, leaving us with 7 pages of content, so let’s take a look! The headhunter as depicted herein is a 10-level prestige class that grants 3/4 BAB-progression, 1/2 Fort- and Will-save progressions, d10 HD, 4 + Int skills per level and can be qualified for at 5th level. The first important aspect here pertains the fact that carrying carrion heads around does not really always go over well – a sidebar deals with the cultural implications and what happens when you e.g. carry a foe’s head to a creature. After severing a defeated foe’s […]

Lost Lore: Eminent Domains This installment of the Lost Lore-series clocks in at 12 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 9 pages of content, so let’s take a look! So, domains – in theory, they are supposed to depict a certain theological focus for the respective deities and their servants; in practice, that does not translate too well, though. There are subdomains and Rogue Genius Games’ exalted domains as a means to further emphasize particular concepts. This pdf features a different, multi-pronged approach to the subject matter – in short, there are 3 feats: Domain Affinity grants you an at-will SP as part of preparing a given domain spell. As soon […]

Lost Lore: Schools of Thought This installment of the Lost Lore-series clocks in at 12 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 9 pages of content, so let’s take a look! So, what is this? In short, these are wizard schools, not organized by spell school, but instead by theme; they otherwise work just like the regular arcane schools, including opposed schools that need to be chosen, etc. The schools thus introduced would be commercial, court wizard, entertainer, hedge wizard, investigator, lord, mentor, mystic. Beyond the spell-lists provided for the respective schools, there is some guidance for GMs to integrate spells in these schools, which include the rule of fun/pun – the […]

Borderland Provinces: Player’s Guide (system-neutral) This book clocks in at 18 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 14 pages of content, so let’s take a look! So, what kind of player’s guide is this? The answer is simple: It’s the type of guide you read because you want to read it. The theme is relatively simple – instead of just confronting players with a dry synopsis of the respective regions, this pdf is written to emulate a collection of letters/correspondences and documents of characters that are traveling the borderland provinces that will be the adventuring location for the players. The intriguing component with this approach is that […]

Borderland Provinces: Journey Generator (system neutral) This supplement clocks in at 22 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, 3/4 of a page blank, leaving us with 16 1/4 pages of content, so let’s check this out! One central component of any sandbox campaign worth its salt is the component of the journey – whether because wine and wenches await in a far-off place or because something needs to be delivered – whether a secret missive, a caravan or something altogether different. The problem that a GM does have here is that it is hard to come up with meaning full journeys – enter this book and its […]

Borderland Provinces: Player’s Gazetteer (system-neutral) This booklet clocks in at 22 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 18 pages of content, so let’s take a look! The Borderland Provinces Player’s Guide took a rather brave and evocative step by focusing exclusively on the atmosphere created, on providing a book that conveys properly the unique flavor of the Borderland Provinces. At the same time, this book alone would some tables leave wanting the harsh facts, the breakdown of the lands to be found in this illustrious region and notes on the history of the place – after all, when you have lived here for a while, you will […]

Cults of the Sundered Kingdoms (PFRPG/OSR) This HUGE AP/setting-supplement clocks in at a massive 437 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 3 pages of ToC, 3 pages of SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with pretty ridiculous 428 pages of content, so let’s take a look! All right, we begin this huge book by basically taking a glimpse at the region of the Sundered Kingdoms – wait, that’s not the right way to describe it: The war-and calamity-torn Sunderlands receive a massive, stunningly detailed and well-written gazetteer that clocks in at 32 pages – from discussions on the local technology-level to area by area breakdowns of settlements and the like, we get a tremendous amount of […]

Swords and Wizardry Complete Rule Book (OSR) This massive rule-book clocks in at 144 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page list of tables (important!), 6 pages of supporter-thanks, 1 page legal appendix, 1 page note-space, 2 pages of advertisement, leaving us with 130 pages of content, so let’s take a look! Ähem. I feel old. 😉 This is my birthday-review, my present from myself to myself, so please bear with me regarding the obvious deviation from my usual standard regarding reviewing. Kidding aside regarding age and the like…when I started playing, believe it or not, you young ‘uns, the game didn’t have that much to do with math. Sure, we needed it. […]

Dear readers of Nerdtrek! This is endzeitgeist, the guy that posts a lot of the reviews you see on this awesome site. As some of you will know, my financial situation isn’t the best – quite frankly, without my patreon, I couldn’t do any reviews at all. As in: “I’m working all day to scrape by.” The patreon literally keeps the lights on right now. While my trip to Copenhagen and job application there and at other places (as some of you may know, I’ve been pretty busy in that regard) *may* remedy that situation, for now, my resources are incredibly stretched; they have been so for quite some time and I’m working hard to change that […]

Lost Lore: Ecology of the Troll This installment of Frog God Games’ Lost Lore-series clocks in at 8 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 3/4 of a page blank, leaving us with 4 1/4 pages of content, so let’s take a look! We begin this pdf with a brief piece of in-character prose, setting the mood…and then dive into the genesis of the troll, here depicted in the telling of a legend, where mighty Eirik, lord of the North, instructed the dark sorceror Inghard to find a way to gain soldiers that would not de – and hence, in truly compelling prose, we accompany these two on the way to the doom that befalls […]

Cults of the Sundered Kingdoms Player’s Guide The Player’s Guide for Frog God Games’ massive Cults of the Sundered Kingdoms-book clocks in at 18 pages, 1 page front cover,1 page editorial, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 15 pages of content, so let’s take a look! This player’s guide is very much interesting in its format – we begin each section with a paragraph of italics, excerpts from the memoires of fabled rogue Titus the Grey, while the main meat of each respective section elaborating on the fluffy bit of text before. Beyond a hex-sporting overview map of the lands, the pdf further elaborates on the diverse ethnicities of the region, with gorgeous b/w-artworks – from the Erskaeloi […]

Lost Lore: Ecology of the Basilisk This installment of the Lost Lore-series clocks in on 9 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 3/4 of a page blank, leaving us with 5 1/4 pages of content, so let’s take a look! Okay, so the first thing I actually noticed (and enjoyed) about this pdf is that it’s actually written in character – so yes, the reader is basically diving into the field notes of Lady Daxitroniusilluminarious Jaedall – and know what? I really like the style in which this is presented: Beginning with a brief anecdote, we go on to properly classify the creature within the context of its history and physiological contexts – and […]

Lost Lore: Town of Glory This little supplement clocks in at 14 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 11 pages of content, so what is this? Well, know how I love kingdom-building and consider Ultimate Campaign and they expansions released by Legendary Games pretty much one of the most awesome things ever? If you’ve been following my reviews, then this will come as no surprise. What may come as a surprise, though, is that I think that the kingdom-building-rules don’t work perfectly in the highest and lowest echelons – as recently commented on the boards, I’m waiting for a supplement to add the mythic element to kingdom building at the high […]